V8 Supercars – Nissan Joining V8 Supercars, Your Questions Answered

. What has changed in V8 Supercars that allows Nissan to enter the Championship in 2013?

A. V8 Supercars’ ‘Car of the Future’ opens the door for this to happen.

Q. What is ‘Car of the Future’?

A. In brief, the ‘Car of the Future’ (COTF) aims to broaden the appeal and ensure the long-term viability of the Championship by introducing new cars and events, improving driver safety and reducing the cost of running a V8 Supercar.

Over two years of work has gone into the project, which essentially creates a common car platform from which manufacturers can now build-up a car and enter the series.

The next generation Car of the Future has some technical differences and safety improvements over the existing cars.

These changes make them cheaper to construct, stronger, safer and more relevant to the modern motoring market.

Q. Why is Car of the Future important for V8 Supercars?

A. For a range of reasons. It opens the potential for more manufacturers, such as Nissan, to join the championship from 2013 onwards. It also helps underpin the viability of the category and its racing teams and is a case of evolution, rather than revolution.

A. From 2013. All V8 Supercars Championship cars on the grid at the first race of the 2013 season -whether they are Ford, Holden or Nissan -will be built to COTF specifications.

Q. Will the arrival of Nissan alongside Holden and Ford mean more cars will be on the grid for V8 Supercars races in 2013?

A. No, the grid size will remain at the present number of 28 cars in 2013. There are 28 Racing Entitlements Contracts (RECs) and V8 Supercars will add no more. With four Nissans, the remaining 24 cars in 2013 will be Holdens and Fords. All cars will be brand new and built to Car of the Future specification.

Q. How authentic will the Nissan V8 Supercar be? Will it be a silhouette car?

A. Absolutely not. The Nissan V8 Supercar will retain the ‘DNA’ of its road-going version with opening and closing doors, genuine panels and fixings (head and tail lights, grill, etc) and the same shape and styling of the road car.

This is in direct contrast with NASCAR’s silhouette-style cars, which are constructed of sheet metal draped over a base chassis.

Different manufacturers are only distinguishable by decals in NASCAR. This is not the case with V8 Supercars.

Q. How many Nissans will be on the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship grid?

A. At present there will be four – all run by Kelly Racing from their Melbourne race shop. All of Nissan’s discussions about joining V8 Supercars have been with Kelly Racing and there has been no dialogue with other teams.

Q. When does the first Nissan V8 Supercar hit the track?

A. The first Nissan V8 Supercar built under Car of the Future rules will test for the first time in 2012 ahead of its racing debut in 2013.

Q. When will the first Nissan V8 Supercar race?

A. The new Nissan V8 Supercar will be on the grid for the first event of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship season.

Q. What model Nissan will their V8 Supercar be?

A. This will be announced in due course.

Q. What engine will the Nissan V8 Supercar use?

A. There will be more details confirmed in upcoming weeks by Kelly Racing and NISMO Motorsports.

Q. When did Nissan last compete in the top level of touring car racing in Australia?

A. Nissan’s last major, factory-backed touring car involvement in Australia was in 1992 with Gibson Motorsport and the mighty GT-R ‘Godzilla’. Nissan competed in Australian touring car racing as a works team between 1981 and 1992. It ran Bluebirds, Skylines and finally the dominant GT-R.

Its last Bathurst 1000 start came in that year with Jim Richards and Mark Skaife winning the race, the second in a row for Nissan after also claiming victory in 1991. There was a Nissan Primera Super Tourer run by Garry Rogers Motorsport and driven by Steven Richards in 1997 in Australia but this was not a factory-backed effort.

Q. When did a Nissan last compete in the Bathurst 1000?

A. A Nissan last competed in the Bathurst 1000 in 1998. Steven Richards and Englishman Matt Neal finished second in the two-litre Super Touring version of The Great Race in a Nissan Primera.

Q. Is Nissan open to other manufacturers to join it, Ford and Holden in V8 Supercars?

A. Yes, Nissan welcomes any other manufacturer that looks to follow its lead and join the V8 Supercars Championship under the new Car of the Future rules that are introduced in 2013.

Q. Are further manufacturers expected to follow Nissan’s lead and join the V8 Supercars Championship under the new Car of the Future rules?

A. V8 Supercars expects more manufacturers to follow Nissan into the Championship. The sport aims to grow to 18 events in Australia and worldwide (from the present 16 Championship events) over 40 weeks in future years.